Big Al Invitational
- December 6-8, 2024
- DeNunzio Pool — Princeton, NJ
- 25 Yards (SCY)
- Participating Teams: Columbia, George Washington, Princeton (host), University of Pennsylvania, West Virginia (diving only)
- Results: “2024 Princeton Big Al Invitational” on MeetMobile
- Day 1 Finals Recap
Princeton holds the lead with one day remaining at its 2024 Big Al Invitational. On the women’s side, it’s a narrow lead, as the University of Pennsylvania is just six points behind after the team broke multiple program records on Day Two.
Women’s Meet
The quartet of Amy Qin (24.62), Isabella Pytel (27.94), Margaret Hu (24.45), and Kayla Fu (22.09) won the opening 200 medley relay in 1:39.10, cracking a five-year-old school record. It’s the first time a Penn 200 medley relay has broken 1:40; the previous record stood at 1:40.27 from 2019.
Hu and Fu, both freshmen, had a quick turnaround as they were back on the blocks for the championship final of the women’s 100 butterfly. Fu won the event in 52.54, breaking the program record she set earlier this season (53.19). It’s a new lifetime best for Fu as well, bettering the 52.86 she swam at the 2022 Winter Juniors – West. Hu won a close race against Princeton’s Edie Simecek for second, clocking 53.63 to give Penn a 1-2 finish.
Anna Moehn added the 200 freestyle to Penn’s win column. It’s her second individual event win of the meet, as she won the 500 freestyle on the first night. Moehn swam 1:46.77, splitting a 26.69 over the final 50 yards to pass Princeton freshman Natalie Farquhar for the win.
The Tigers got a 1-2 finish of their own in the 400 IM. 2024 NCAA qualifier Eleanor Sun completed her IM sweep at the Big Al Invite, winning the 400 IM with a 4:08.37 as fellow sophomore Dakota Tucker swam 4:09.68 for second. Penn’s Katya Eruslanova earned third in 4:11.88, giving Penn its third program record in as many events. It’s her second school record of the meet, as she broke the 200 IM mark the day before (1:59.52).
Tigers Sabrina Johnston and Isabella Korbly tied for the win in the 100 backstroke, each stopping the clock at 53.58, rounding out the individual event winners for Princeton. Later, Heidi Smithwick (1:49.38), Johnston (1:45.89), Jenna Walters (1:47.83), and Sun (1:46.40) won the 800 free relay in 7:09.50.
Columbia’s Ashley Hu turned sixth at the halfway point of the women’s 100 breaststroke championship final but split 31.60 on the back half to get her hands on the wall first in 1:01.58
Men’s Meet
The Tiger men hold a stronger lead than the women—with 798.5 points, they are 224.5 points ahead of the University of Pennsylvania. Princeton strengthened its hold on Day 2 with four event wins.
Junior Mitchell Schott broke the pool record in the men’s 400 IM and crushed his lifetime best with a 3:40.69. The time moves Mitchell to third in mid-major history and puts him .65 seconds from Raunak Khosla’s 3:40.04—both the Princeton and all-time mid-major record.
The swim continues a strong season for Schott. At the end of the session, he led off Princeton’s winning 800 freestyle relay. He swam 1:33.69, then handed things off to Arthur Balva (1:34.92), Parker Lenoce (1:36.60), and Maximilian Hunger (1:36.86) and the quartet won with a 6:22.28.
Princeton’s 200 medley ‘A’ relay wasn’t leading at the halfway mark of the 200 medley relay, but Tyler Hong (21.60 back) and Andrew Zou (24.72) had kept George Washington and Penn close. On the back half, Conor McKenna split 20.65 on the butterfly leg, pulling the squad into the lead. Then, Brett Feyerick anchored in 18.87, stopping the clock at 1:25.84.
Later, Hong won the 100 backstroke in 46.49, a few-tenths from the lifetime best 46.23 he swam in prelims. It’s Hong’s second lifetime best of the season as he previously swam 46.63 at a tri-meet.
Olympian Matt Fallon led a 1-2 finish in the 100 breaststroke for Penn. He led the championship final wire-to-wire, clocking 52.16 for his win. His freshman teammate Watson Nguyen held off Columbia’s Demirkan Demir down the stretch as he rocketed to a lifetime best 52.73, breaking 53 seconds for the first time.
Finally, Columbia junior Adam Wu won the 200 freestyle with a season-best 1:35.20. He flipped behind Princeton’s Maximilian Hunger at the 100 mark, but split 24.78/24.07 on the back half to win by over a second as Hunger finished second in 1:36.25.
Team Scores Thru Day 2
Women
- Princeton — 727
- University of Pennsylvania — 721
- Columbia — 477.5
- George Washington — 432.5
Men
- Princeton — 798.5
- University of Pennsylvania — 574
- George Washington — 561
- Columbia — 485.5
